PRIMUN News

GLOMUN

14 PLG students kicked off the Model United Nation season. They visited GLOMUN, the conference of Bertha-von-Suttner-Gymnasium from 6 - 8 November 2023. It was the first time PLG delegates joined this conference and it was particularly interesting to experience a different MUN procedure that met in regional councils rather than topical committees. Five of the six resolutions passed in the General Assembly were submitted by PLG students. Also, individual PLG delegates received awards for active participation and excellent preparation. Congratulations!

BERMUN

Only a week later, they were at it again. From Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 November, 21 students of Primo-Levi-Gymnasium ranging from Year 7 to Year 12 were invited to join Berlin Model United Nations. BERMUN is the biggest MUN conference in Berlin with more than 700 delegates from 70 schools and 20 different countries. The PLG students took on the role of delegates of Somalia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in numerous committees, as cartoonist in the press team, as advocates in the International Court of Justice and as chairs of the Junior Committee and the World Trade Organisation. The topic of Sustainable Development in a Capitalist World was introduced at the formal Opening Ceremony at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung by keynote speakers Dr. Jörg Kukies (Secretary of State in the German Federal Chancellery) and Cameron Abadi (Deputy Editor & Correspondent Foreign Policy). Afterwards, opening speeches of the ambassadors of the delegations presented the - sometimes controversial- positions of the UN member states on this topic.

Thursday morning, the public transport strike posed an extra challenge for all students trying to arrive on time at John F. Kennedy School in Berlin Zehlendorf. After an extra early start, all delegates had arrived and committee work could resume. Students of PLG met in the International Court of Justice; the Historical Security Council; the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee; the Special Conference; the World Trade Organization, the Environment Committee; the Political Committee and of course the Junior Committee. Most committees began to form interest groups during the lobbying phase to come up with a joined resolution that would be debated during formal debate, while the court presented the evidence list.

A particular highlight was the special speaker event, when Horst Köhler, former president of Germany addressed selected committees on Friday afternoon. His remarks on the importance of global cooperation when pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals and the effort of transforming economies were followed by a Q&A with the delegates.

Controversial and fierce debates led to nuanced resolutions that were celebrated on Saturday afternoon in the Closing Ceremony at Henry-Ford-Bau of Freie Universität.

On Saturday night, the BERMUN dance provided a more relaxed atmosphere to bring the conference to a close. Thank you again BERMUN for hosting another extraordinary conference and Förderverein PLG for substantially supporting our delegates!
The next conference for PLG delegates is THEMUN, Theresienschule Model United Nations on 7-8 December 2023. It will be attended by the students of Zusatzkurs MUN.

You want to be part of MUN? Primo Levi Model United Nations 2024 is happening from Wednesday 24 to Friday 26 January and will be discussing the topic of Decolonizing Distribution - Fighting Inequality in Postcolonial Times.
Registration opens on 13 December. Learn more about becoming a delegate at the PRIMUN workshops on Monday 11 and Wednesday 13 December 2023, 3.45 pm, B105/108.

You want to be part of the press team, admin staff or the tech team?
For press team and admin staff: contact l.dompert@plg-berlin.de.
The tech team requires an additional validation. Therefore, please contact technik@plg-berlin.de by December 23, 2023 or simply visit the Technik AG (every Friday from 1:55 to 3:25 pm).